A vision is being
revealed to create and
consecrate a Kohola sculpture from one of the ten Port Chicago logs to be
placed in Hawaii. This exhibit
will feature the marine, animal, plant and bird life in five representational
climate and terrain elevation zones of the traditional
ahupua'aland schemes of ancient Hawaii where
great continuous swaths of land from the ocean (makai) all the way up to the top
of the mountains (mauka) were managed on a preplanned sustainable basis to
produce the foods necessary to support the original Hawaiian groups of peoples
who inhabited the lands.

Sam Hart
(above) of the Pacific Islanders Cultural Association grinds smooth the DNA
surfaces carved by Shane Eagleton using chain saws. Hundreds and
perhaps thousands of images of native Hawaiian plant, animal, bird and marine
life will be carved into the surfaces of the DNA by teams of youth in Hawaii
under the supervision of eco-carver Shane Eagleton before the log is placed
permanently.

Jon Larson, born and raised
in the Hawaiian Islands, applies a periodic coat of linseed oil to
protect the surface from the elements while it is being stored in the San
Francisco Presidio, the original carving site provided under special use permit
by the U.S. Parks Service.

KohoLa
- "Seek the Light"

KohoLa is the Hawaiian name for
whale.
Early Hawaiians were inspired by the mother
humpbacks pushing their keiki (calves) toward the surface (toward the light - Ko-ho-La)
for a first breath of air. We used it in the early stages of the project as a spiritual idiom
for "To Seek the Light (Truth)" and to describe all the various activities
which were taking place under the umbrella that was originally called the Kohola
Healing Poles Project and has since come to be known as the
Kohola
Sculptures Project.

The
above painting by Bay Area
eco-artist George Sumner called "Bali Hai" depicts a mother Humpback
whale gently pushing her newborn keiki calf toward the surface (towards
the light) for its first breath of fresh air off the Na Pali Coast of
Kauai.

The planned stages have begun for placement of Kohola through gifting by a team
of Hawaii based people including the Iliahi Foundation of Hawaii, Punahou
School, and college students of Hawaii, The
Hawaiian Life Apuaha'a Kohola sculpture exhibit will mirror ancient Hawaii
where a
system of land management developed that mirrored the natural landscape
in which
nature itself was honored and respected. 'Aina, the Living Earth, is
the
ancestor who provides sustenance. The natural resources defined the
boundaries
of the ahupua'a.
This significant land division was generally wedge shaped and stretched from
the ocean to the uplands. Kailua, in the Ko'olau-poko, was considered one of the
richest ahupua'a on Oahu. It had plentiful rainfall, rich forests, hundreds of
streams, sheltered valleys, broad flat lands, protected shores, and rich ocean
fisheries. Malama is the necessary stewardship to care for these resources and
to share with others. As the water flows down the mountain, it nourishes food
plants. Fishing in the upper streams for shrimp and hihi-wai (limpets) varied
the diet. Kalo, ki, and mai'a (taro, ti, and banana) were grown downstream near
the na hale (houses). As the water reaches level ground near the ocean, water is
diverted to fishponds. Placement at the Waikiki Aquarium will be within
the historic Waikiki Ahupua'a tract.

The Hawaiian
Life sculpture (above) depicts a Hawaiian humpback whaleKoholamoving
through the ocean with the water streaming off its head and back. The photo
below shows glass wall murals hung at Honolulu International Airport
depicting the ocean waves of Hawaii which is a perfect metaphor artistic tie
into this image of Pacific Ocean waters streaming off the back of the Kohola
humpback whale moving through the ocean off Hawaii.

Currently stored
at the San Francisco Presidio, the partially
completed sculpture awaits its
journey to Hawaii and its new life as the Kohola Hawaiian Life Ahu'pua'a Sculpture at
a final location yet to be determined, and perhaps in the central lobby of the
Waikiki Aquarium where it will greet all visitors to the aquarium and allow
young children and students to make colored chalk etchings of the various
forms of the endangered Hawaiian species.

Lemon grass burns inside a California abalone
shell in the traditional Native American consecration ceremony of the
first Kohola sculpture dedicated to the Children of the World in
1997.

The One Voice 9-11 Healing Totem sculpture dedicated
September 5, 2002 at New York City's Bronx Zoo where it will greet the one
million children and adult visitors to the Bronx Zoo each year.

"Kohola
Sculptures"is a series of projects
supported by the Jon
and Karen Larson Family Foundation, a
non-profit 501c3 public benefit foundation with
interests centered in California and Hawaii. The foundation sponsors community activities
which all have
spiritual, cultural healing, or ecological restoration themes in their heart
and soul. Over
the past seven years, under the umbrella of the Kohola Sculptures
Project, many different individuals and non-profit organizations (each with its own
vision, mission and
priorities) worked together in a burst of creative synergy to create a series of healing
sculptures carved from old growth previously fallen logs
which range from several hundred to over 1,000 years old.

Ten of the logs are immense Alaskan yellow cedar logs salvaged
in 1997 from the U.S. Navy's former Port Chicago
Naval facility on the San Francisco Bay where they were installed in the 1920's
and used as floating and underwater caissons at the former west coast ammunition
storage and trans-shipping facility. Three others are previously fallen old
growth redwood logs acquired from private land owners near San Francisco.

Each Kohola
sculpture is consecrated for a specific healing purpose.
Each is a model for spiritual healing which honors the cultural and faith
traditions of the peoples and the plants and animal life worldwide.

#1-2
Two sculptures have been completed to date and are installed out of doors, one
at the Bronx Zoo in New York City and the other at the PAL (Protect All Life)
ranch outside San Francisco.

#3-4
Two more honoring the First Peoples of California are completed and on public
display at the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy's Presidio Native Plants
Center.

#5-6
Two more are partially completed and on public display in the San Francisco
Presidio awaiting consummation of the vision to relocate one to Honolulu, Hawaii
and the second one to Japan where they will be completed and installed at
appropriate locations.

#7 One
of the logs is stored at the Protect All Life tree recycling center in Oakland,
California prior to being completed and installed at the Interfaith Center at
the Presidio of San Francisco.

#8-10
The remaining three Port Chicago logs are stored at Fort Ord near Monterey,
California. They will be
used by the California Workforce Investment Board's youth training programs of
the One Stop career training centers in special youth mentorship training
programs modeled after the successful One Voice 9-11 Healing Pole project.

One Kohola
Sculpture was completedin 1997 and 1998,

Children's
Sculpture

Two were completed in 2000,

Protect
All Life Sculpture

Marine
Life Bench

Two were completed in
2002.

One
Voice 9-11 Healing Pole - New York City

One
Voice 9-11 Healing Pole - California

One was completed in
2010.

The First Peoples of California
Healing Totem -
Indian Canyon, San Juan Bautista/Hollister, CA

Two are currently in the build stage.

Thousand Cranes
Youth Sculpture

Kohola Hawaiian Life Ahupua'a Sculpture

One is currently in the planning stage.

Interfaith
Healing Pole

Three Port Chicago
logs were
acquired by the California Workforce Investment Board for future
youth training programs with yet to be determined themes. Possibilities
include:

United Nations

Port Chicago

Africa

A Park is in
the vision stage.

Restoration Park

Kohola Project
Inspiration

The project was first
inspired when the Hawaiian Spiritual Delegation
came to San Francisco in June of 1995 to participate in the
United Nations 50th Charter Interfaith celebration where a call for a new United
Religions Initiative was first heard by a confluence of representatives of the
worlds faith traditions.

The arrival of the Hokule'a sailing canoe from
Hawaii into San Francisco Bay the same week was another key event that
brought together Hovey Lambert of the Pacific Islanders Cultural
Association, Shane Eagleton, world renown
eco-sculpturist,
Marcus Von Skepsgardh of the Protect All Life Foundation, Melissa
Nelson of the Cultural Conservancy,
Paul Chaffee of the Interfaith Center at the Presidio, Pat Friedel of
the California Indian
Museum and Cultural Center, Jon Larson of the Jon and Karen Larson
Family Foundation, and other individuals and groups who related to the
healing mission.

Their
shared visions and creative
energy were further inspired by dreams for a better future in the new
Millennium fast
approaching. The people and the historical time of the new millennium
together created the historical imperative within which the
sculptures project was born.

It was originally designated the
Kohola Healing Poles Project honoring the
common ties of the many Pacific Islanders at the core of
the project including Jon Larson, the Pacific Islanders Cultural
Association,
and Shane Eagleton. The project name was subsequently
changed to the Kohola sculptures project to more broadly
honor and represent the diversity of the backgrounds of
all of the individuals and non-profit organizations that have come to
be
involved.

The
Healing Mission

Land - Ancient Trees
The First
Peoples
Oceans - The Great Whale

The healing
missions of the Kohola Sculptures is expressed through three living symbols (life forms) of the indigenous plants,
animals and peoples of the world;

The great original old growth giant
trees, the redwoods and cedars of the Pacific Northwest,

The great whale
(Kohola),

The proud descendents of the First Peoples of California
and the Pacific Northwest, and the
Pacific Islands.

The
whale (kohola) and the old growth redwood and cedar trees, ancient
animal and plant species which have co-existed for over 40 million
years on this planet, are threatened with extinction as are the history
and collective wisdom of the indigenous "First Peoples" of the Earth.
This brings meaning and importance to the healing mission expressed in
each of
the Kohola Sculptures.

The stories of the great whale, the great California redwood and
Pacific Coast cedar trees, and the
spiritual traditions and cultures of the indigenous peoples of
California, Hawaii and the Pacific region, are re-told through these
Kohola Sculptures in a respectful and reverent manner which seeks
to heal ancient wounds and
restore new life, respect and hope to the living and future descendants
of the indigenous peoples, plants and animals of the world.

KohoLa
- "Seek the Light"

KohoLa is the Hawaiian name for
whale.
Early Hawaiians were inspired by the mother
humpbacks pushing their keiki (calves) toward the surface (toward the light - Ko-ho-La)
for a first breath of air. We used it in the early stages of the project as a spiritual idiom
for "To Seek the Light (Truth)" and to describe all the various activities
which were taking place under the umbrella that was originally called the Kohola
Healing Poles Project and has since come to be known as the
Kohola
Sculptures Project.

The above
painting by Bay Area
eco-artist George Sumner called "Bali Hai" depicts a mother Humpback
whale gently pushing her newborn keiki calf toward the surface (towards
the light) for its first breath of fresh air off the Na Pali Coast of
Kauai.

The
original Kohola (KohoLa) Carving Team

The Kohola team gathered at the Kohola carving site in the Presidio of San Francisco
on Earth Day in
February of 1997 to receive the ten Kohola yellow cedar logs salvaged from the
former U.S. Navy base of Port Chicago, 40 miles northeast of San Francisco.

A group of ten unique
logs was salvaged by the Kohola Sculptures Project in 1997. The logs range from
300-1,000+ years
old each, average 30 feet
long, and weigh 2-3 tons each. They were brought by rail to San Francisco in the early
1920's from the Pacific Northwest to serve as submerged and floating caissons at a
former shipyard which was converted to became the Port Chicago
Naval Magazine, a
U.S. Navy ammunition loading base 40 miles northeast of San Francisco.

These ten logs all withstood the immense blast
July 17, 1944 caused by the explosion of two ammunition ships being loaded with munitions for the war in the
Pacific. 320 men lost their lives in the tragic explosion, the largest
single loss of civilian lives during the war. This history is important because it feeds the
healing and restoration themes of the Kohola
Sculptures.

The logs were
removed from service 60 years later in the '80's, stored on a remote mudflat on the San
Francisco Bay, and forgotten. Fifteen years later, destined
to be sold for firewood, the marine salvage firm Specialty Crushing sold them instead
in 1997 to the Kohola Sculptures Project team.

On Earth Day
in 1997, they were transported by truck to a
special carving site within the Presidio of San Francisco obtained by the Kohola
Project under a temporary "special use permit" from the U.S. National
Park Service.

Historical information about the exact background of the Kohola logs
is not 100% certain. But we have researched all available information and present it
herein as our best judgment and opinion about the sources, ages and
history of each of the Kohola logs.

The Redwood logs

Two Kohola healing sculptures, the Childrens Sculpture and the Marine Life Bench, and the original
PAL KohoLa Whale sculpture carved by Shane Eagleton, the artistic director of the PAL
Foundation, were sculpted from three old growth previously fallen redwood trees from the
coastal areas of northern California.

The whale shown
below was sculptured
from the redwood log shown above. It is carved from a
single 5 ton 40 foot long 2000 year old abandoned redwood log found by Shane
Eagleton at a defunct sawmill in Mendocino County, California and transported to
San Francisco in 1995 where it was carved by Shane and the PAL Foundation into the
PAL Kohola Whale
sculpture shown below.

"Mother KohoLa"
sculpture
by Shane Eagleton
for the PAL Foundation on display at Crissy Field on San Francisco Bay
at the
Pacific Islanders Cultural Association's Aloha Festival in 1995. The
sculpture was given its name "KohoLa" by the Hawaiian Spiritual
Delegation to the United Nations 50th anniversary in San Francisco in
1995.

The First
Peoples of California Sculptureshown
above at the
carving center on public
display at the Presidio Native Plant
Nursery.

It was transported to Indian Canyon near
Hollister, California where it was raised in Ceremony in 2010

as a permanent welcome sign to all who travel to
Indian Canyon to share spiritual healing that helps us all.

"First
Peoples of California" Healing Pole Sculpture

Indian Canyon - San Juan Bautista/Hollister - California

"Thousand
Cranes" Sculpture

The"Thousand Crances"
sculpture currently
resides at the Presidio Native Plant
Nursery waiting plans to be taken to Hawaii to be
completed by teams of youth from California, Hawaii and Japan before it is
transported permanently to Japan.

It was present and
originally consecrated at the first United
Religions Initiativeconference
at Stanford University in June of 1999 shown above which was the
initial convocation of a large group of representatives of faith
traditions from throughout the world who gathered to organize a United
Religions
organization inspired by and modeled after the success of the United
Nations.

Pacific
Islanders - Kohola Sculpture

The Pacific
Islanders PICA Sculptureabove honors the healing wisdom of the indigenous
peoples of Hawaii and the Pacific Islands. A protective coat of oil
is being applied to the surface of the PICA Pole which was sculpted into a Hawaiian
humpback whale by Shane
Eagleton, the Pacific Islanders Cultural Association, and the Kohola carving
support team of organizations from throughout the San Francisco Bay area.

This Pacific Islanders
Sculpture was carved in 1997. The Pacific
Islanders Cultural Association, a San Francisco based non-profit
organization seeks to preserve the Hawaiian and Pacific Islands culture
in California
and to extend a welcome hand to Hawaiians and all Pacific Islanders
relocating to the Mainland.

We plan to bring the PICA Sculpture
home to an appropriate permanent public place in Hawaii for viewing by
all Pacific Island peoples and visitors to these islands. It honors all peoples of Hawaii and the Pacific
Islands on behalf of the PICA organization, the Pacific Islands peoples and the indigenous peoples of
northern California, and the Hawaiian Spiritual Delegation to the UN
Interfaith gathering in San Francisco in June of 1995 when the United Religions
Initiative vision was born.

The
Kohola PICA
Sculpture

On display at
the Interfaith Center at the Presidio

First
Children of California

This
healing pole is dedicated to the memory of the First Children of California
including the children of the first people to inhabit the San Francisco Bay Area
whose families are referred to collectively as the Ohlone.

The
Childrens Sculpture under construction, being carved from a 150 year old
California redwood tree that had fallen over on private land in a windstorm.

Eco-sculpturist
Shane Eagleton explains the mission of the Childrens
Sculpture to the
participants at the consecration ceremony in Half Moon Bay.

Bluebird
Woman Elayna Reyna of the San Juan Bautista American Indian Council puts her own
healing energy into the Childrens
Sculpture.

The Childrens Sculptureon display at the world headquarters plaza of Levi Strauss in San
Francisco.

San Francisco Presidio Mural

A notable artistic feature of the
Interfaith Center at the Presidio Chapel is a large wall mural painted in 1935
by Victor Arnautoff who was recognized as a leading artist of the period. The mural depicts a historical pageant related to the
founding of the Presidio, the peacetime activities of the Army, and the first
establishment of a Christian religious tradition on the lands of the Presidio,
all in the first years of immigrants from Europe to the area.

The mural also depicts the First Peoples of San Francisco, the Ohlone, in peaceful
encounters with the recently arrived religious, military and business elements
migrating to the area in the 1800's, just as the ancestors of the Ohlone First Peoples
migrated to the area many thousands of years earlier and lived on these same
lands.

TheProtect
All Life Healing Pole was
carved by
Shane Eagleton for the PAL
Foundation. from one of the
ten Port Chicago logs. It is mounted vertically
on PAL property on the coast in Half Moon Bay below San Francisco,
as an "acupuncture needle for Mother Earth".

Marine Life
Bench

Marine Life
Bench

The Marine Life
Bench
contains representative symbols of the marine life that lives within the
triangle of San Francisco Bay, the Farallon Islands, and Monterey Bay. 200
representational marine mammals, fish, reptiles, invertebrates, birds, and tidal
marsh and dune plants are being carved into the surface of the bench.

It
is planned as a gift to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area for placement
at an appropriate location within the GGNRA national park system, perhaps even
the Crissy Field Visitor Center where visitors can sit and rest along the
pathway while exploring the bird and plant life in the restored area.
It is currently used within the Presidio Native Plants Nursery in the main
gathering center.

The One Voice
9-11 Healing Totem sculpture above was gifted in the memory of all those lives
lost in the 9-11 tragedies. It was transported cross country from
California and unveiled and erected within the New York City Bronx Zoo in September, 2002 on the first year anniversary.

The One Voice 9-11 Healing Pole
with a representation of New York City Council members, Bronx Borough political
representation, local Jacoby Hospital officials, New York City police and
firemen, school teachers, Monterey student carvers, California Workforce
Investment Board members, administrators and management of the Bronx Zoo, and
surviving members of families who lost loved ones in the 9-11 tragedy.

The following series of photos shows the
process of converting salvaged old growth logs into completed healing poles.
These pictures were all taken at the special
Koholacarving site at the San
Francisco Presidio.

The
Carving Process

The logs are
sand blasted to remove mud and loose bark. Rotted out sections are removed with
special chain saws.

Purposes and
healing themes for each log are discussed by project members.

Prior to
carving, each log is consecrated in a special ceremony honoring the traditions
of the First Peoples from California and the Pacific Northwest and the Pacific Islands.

Chains of
the double helix DNA are carved by special chain saws over the entire outside of
the log. Eco-artist Shane Eagleton selected the DNA theme for all the Kohola
Sculptures because it symbolizes all life; animal, plant and human, male and
female. DNA is the common link of all life.

The surfaces
of each log are then ground smooth by special high speed grinders.

Special
symbols appropriate to the intended healing theme and purpose of the log are
hand carved with special carving tools onto the surfaces of the DNA.

A coating of
boiled linseed oil or marine varnish is applied to protect the outer surfaces
from the elements and to help retain the inner red and yellow colorations of the
wood which will turn dark as it oxidizes naturally with the light and the
elements.

The surface
areas are periodically covered with linseed oil for continued protection against
the elements. For healing poles to remain outside in the winter elements,
a special coating is applied to prevent cracking and discoloration of the
exterior from exposure to the elements.

Above Jon
Larson applies another protective coat of linseed oil to the surface of the
Pacific Islanders PICA Pole which was sculpted in 1997 into a Hawaiian
humpback whale by Shane Eagleton, the Pacific Islanders Cultural Association, and the
Kohola carving
support team of organizations from throughout the San Francisco Bay area.

The following sequence of
photos shows the early morning relocation of the PICA Pacific Islanders Sculpture
from a
carving site across downtown San Francisco to its current display site at the Interfaith Center at the Presido.

Through the streets of San Francisco

In front of the San Francisco Civic
Center Building

Along Crissy Field
with the fog enshrouded Golden Gate Bridge in the background.

The Artist: SHANE EAGLETON is a
master woodcarver, ecologist, and educator. For 20 years he has created a
multitude of sculptures, a few of them mentioned below. Trees are not sacrificed
for his artwork. He only uses naturally fallen timber or recycled wood. The tree
becomes the medium for the message.

Eagleton's artwork abounds with
images from the natural world, bringing attention to the plight of endangered
species. Shane's carvings are enduring and inspirational monuments to our
precious Earth and the need to pre-serve her for future generations.

Shane is son of a British Royal Air
Force officer who found his bride in Fiji. The family left Fiji when Shane was 6
to move to New Zealand. There he stayed until 17, when he set out to see the
world. Shane spent years traveling through Africa, the Middle East, and Europe.
He made his way to the United States for the first time when he crewed on a
yacht crossing the Atlantic.

In America Shane learned the art of tree surgery, a
vocation which led him in two directions at once. He found a cause - recycling
trees instead of consigning them to landfill or a buzz-saw. For Shane the cause
has become spiritually grounded; giving trees a second life is symbolic of
treating the whole planet and its endangered life-forms with more care and
respect. Tree surgery also gave Eagleton an amazing tool, a new kind of artist's
brush - the chain-saw. He has more than a dozen saws, ranging from small
delicate machines to one with a chain arching out six feet. Whether he is
sculpting a 40-foot whale from of a single 2,000-year-old redwood, carving small
"fish" to make art-collectors out of awestruck children, creating
furniture, raising healing poles, or crafting puppets, Eagleton is a master with
anything made of recycled wood.

Shane's work has been collected all
over the world. In the Bay Area it can be found at the Shoreline Amphi-theater,
Strybing Arboretum, the Mission Cultural Center, and St. Gregory of Nicea
Episcopal Church in San Francisco, and in the Presidio Native Plants Nursery.
His work is also installed in Australia, Czechoslovakia, England, Hawaii, and
Samoa. Mr. Eagleton is an artist-in-residence at The Cultural Conservancy and
involved in a continuing series of projects with the Interfaith Center at the
Presidio. He was recently invited to create a Center for Trees, Culture, and
Sustainability at the Windward Campus of the University of Hawaii. He will also
continue his relationship with the Conservancy and Center.

"Mother Kohola"
sculpture by Shane Eagleton
on display at Crissy Field on San Francisco Bay at the
Pacific Islanders Cultural Association's Aloha Festival in 1995. It is carved from a
single 5 ton 40 foot long 2000 year old abandoned redwood log salvaged from a
defunct sawmill in Mendocino County, California.

The project genesis was at the United Nations 50th
Anniversary Interfaith activities in San Francisco in June of 1995. At
the invitation of the United Nations, San Francisco and Grace Cathedral
were asked to host an Interfaith celebration honoring the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Charter of the United Nations in San Francisco in June of 1945.

Religious leaders representing
the world's faith traditions, UN leaders representing all member
nations of the United Nations, Nobel Peace Prize winners, heads of
State, children from international children's choirs, and young men and
women from the Rediscovering Justice Conference representing all faith
traditions, met at Grace Cathedral and heard a call for a new United
Religions Initiative
modeled after the political UN which seeks to promote respect, peace,
understanding and healing between the world's main common era faith
traditions.

During the Interfaith activities, the Hawaiian Spiritual Delegation
hosted by Hawaii born San Franciscan Jon Larson and led by Rev. (Kahu)
William Kaina and Kehaulani Kea of Honolulu met with many world peace
representatives including Archbishop Desmond Tutu at the University of
San Francisco ReDiscovering Justice Conference, native Americans at the
University of California, and Rev. Paul Chaffee of The Interfaith
Center at the Presidio.

They first viewed the great life-size whale being carved by Shane Eagleton from a
2,000 year old fallen Redwood tree trunk. They named the sculpture KohoLa(the
Hawaiian word for the humpback whales of Hawaii). Early Hawaiians
observed the mother whales gently pushing their newborn keikis (calves)
towards the surface (the light) for their first breath.
KohoLa literally translates to "Seek the Light" and is used by the
Kohola
Project as a spiritual idiom for to "Seek the Truth."

Within
these exciting historical spiritual circumstances, the
KoholaSculptures Project was born.

The "One Voice Healing Pole" was carved by
a special group of young
men and women of the Monterey Bay area under the supervision of Shane Eagleton
in a special government and privately funded project sponsored by the non-profit Monterey
County Youth Workforce Investment Board.

This organization
sponsors special work programs
funded by the Workforce Investment Act and sponsored by Monterey County
Workforce Investment Board, the Office for Employment Training, and the Monterey
County One-Stop Career Center System. Youth from throughout Monterey County
participate in these annual projects which not only beautify the community for
years to come but also provide the youth with team-building skills, bonding, and
a pride for their community which translates into productive members and good
citizens of the community in which they live.

Above are
some of the Monterey
County Youth Workforce participants.

A
Gift in remembrance of 9-11

A
project is under way to gift the One Voice Healing Pole and
an associated Pne Voice Mural as
healing symbols in permanent memory of all those who lost their lives in the
9-11 tragedies.

The vision is to transport it across country from Monterey, California on a truck, stopping off at
schools and relevant historical pointsalong the way to gather additional healing energy from
children and young men and women
enroute.

It would make
its first stop at the
Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial in recognition of the special history Port Chicago played in the life of the
Alaskan yellow cedar log from which the One Voice Healing Pole is carved. Stops
would be made at the crash sitein
Pennsylvania and the Pentagon on its journey to New York City.

Assuming the vision is consummated and the proposed
gift is accepted, it will be
installed at an appropriate location yet
to be determined somewhere near
the rebuilt area of New York City where
it willremain on permanent public
display in memory of all those who lost their lives in the tragedies of that day
as a symbol of healing and restoration.

Ten

Alaskan yellow cedar logs were salvaged from the former Port Chicago Naval Base in 1997.
Here they are stored in the San Francisco Presidio prior to being carved into
healing poles. They average 30 feet in length and weigh 2-3 tons each.
Their ages vary from 300 to over Thousand years old. It is difficult to
determine the exact age of each log because the original cedar trees reached
over 100 feet tall and these logs averaging 30 feet each could have come from
upper sections of a much older old growth tree at the base. Actual ring counts
indicate an age of over 1,000 years of the PICA Sculpture. One of these logs was
gifted to the Monterey County Workforce
Investment Board, the Office for Employment Training, and the Monterey County
One-Stop Career Center System where it was carved in the summer of 2000 into
the One Voice Healing Pole.

Above is one of the original ten
Kohola logs salvaged
in 1997 from the former U.S. Navy Port Chicago Naval Magazine base in the San Francisco Bay
as it arrived at the original
carving site at the Presidio of San Francisco before being carved into a healing
pole. The surfaces were charred and worn from being in service in the Bay for
over 50 years as floating shipping caissons. The One Voice 9-11 Healing Pole
(below) was carved from one of these ten
logs.

The completed
One Voice Healing Pole above is currently stored
at Fort Ord in Monterey,
California, waiting relocation to its final destination in New York City.

The One Voice Mural

The
One Voice Mural above depicts the story of the One Voice Healing Pole from
its birth within a 1,000 thousand year old yellow cedar forest in
Alaska, being cut down in the early 1920's and transported to San Francisco
by rail, serving for 70 years both in peace and wartime at a ship building
yard and then at the Port Chicago Naval Base where it survived the June 1944
blast, being salvaged and recovered by the Kohola Healing
Poles project in 1997 and transported to
the San Francisco Presidio, then being transported to a special carving area
within the U.S. Army's historic Fort Ord in Monterey, carving by the Monterey
Workforce Investment Board One Voice project youth,
and its final transportation to New York City as a gift in permanent memory of
those who lost their lives in the 9-11 tragedies and those others in uniforms
serving in the fire and police departments and in military uniforms in the
global war against terrorism.

Above,
Jon
Larson, director of the Kohola Sculptures
project
who gifted the Port Chicago Alaskan yellow cedar log for the One Voice project,
videographer Jules Hart of Eye Goddess
Productions who captured the project story over 2 years on video, and Joseph
Werner, director of the Monterey
County Workforce Investment Board, the Office for Employment Training, and the
Monterey County One-Stop Career Center System who
sponsored the carving project, stand by the completed One Voice Healing Pole at Fort Ord, California near
Monterey where it awaits transportation via truck to a
permanent home in New York City.

The One Voice 9-11 Healing Pole
with a representation of California youth at the public dedication ceremony in
Palm Springs, California.

The One Voice 9-11 Healing Pole
before the dedication ceremony at the Bronx Zoo on September 5, 2002

The One Voice 9-11 Healing Pole
makes it debut.

The One Voice 9-11 Healing Pole
with a representation of New York City Council members, Bronx Borough political
representation, local Jacoby Hospital officials, New York City police and
firemen, school teachers, Monterey student carvers, California Workforce
Investment Board members, administrators and management of the Bronx Zoo, and
surviving members of families who lost loved ones in the 9-11 tragedy.

Jon and Karen Larson
standing with the One Voice 9-11 Healing Totem sculpture.

The
One Voice Healing Pole and the other nine Kohola logs all survived the
massive calamity at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine ammunition base the night of July 17th, 1944.
Two ammunition ships being loaded
with munitions destined for the war in the Pacific exploded in a freak accident
unexplained to this day. The two ships, the ammo loading facility
and the lives of 320 Sailors, Marines, Coast Guardsmen, Merchant Mariners,
and workers on duty that night were all pulverized in an
instant in the immense explosion. 390 more were injured in the blast that also
damaged or destroyed many of the surrounding buildings at the naval base and the
nearby town. The explosion and flames up to 2 miles high lit up the night
sky and could be seen and heard up to 200 miles away. Some feared the world's
first explosion of an atomic bomb had just occurred.

The Port Chicago US Naval Magazine
National Memorial

Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial
was dedicated in 1994 by the
survivors of that tragic incident in permanent memory of those who lost their
lives and whose lives were severely affected by the explosion. The national
memorial is managed by the U.S. National Park Service as one of over 400
historical sites they manage. It is located on San Francisco Bay on the area
formerly known as Port Chicago Naval Magazine, later included with the Concord Naval Weapons Station Concord, and now renamed
Concord Military Ocean Terminal managed by the
U.S. Army.

The site was used as a shipyard during World War I
and was served by the Santa Fe, Southern Pacific, and Western Pacific railways.
Construction of the Port Chicago ammunition depot was authorized on December 9,
1941, just 2 days after Pearl Harbor and started operations in November
1942.

Most of the ammunition arrived by train from
Hawthorne, Nevada, where it was made, was held in boxcars "parked"
between protective concrete barriers, and when needed, the trains were moved
onto the pier which accommodated 2 ships. About a mile from the pier were
barracks which housed the African-American ammunition handlers.

Loading went on 24 hours per day. The
men moved the ammunition hand-to-hand, on hand trucks, or carts, or rolled
larger bombs down a ramp from the boxcars which were right on the pier and
placed them into cargo netting which they spread out on the pier.

The ammo included small caliber bullets,
incendiary bombs, fragmentation bombs, depth charges, and bombs up to 2,000
pounds. The cargo nets were lowered by the ships booms into a hatch, where they
were packed layer by layer and secured with dunnage (scrap wood).

Neither the officers nor the men received any
training in handling ammunition. There was tremendous pressure to speed up the
loading and officers made bets on the quantity of ammunition their unit would
load in an 8 hour shift. The men were speeded up by threats of punishment. It
was backbreaking, dangerous work.

No cause for the explosion was ever
determined.

The black ammunition handlers, many of whom had
quietly voiced concerns about safety, feared loading ammunition again. Fifty
enlisted black men, including one with a broken arm, were tried for mutiny. The
men stated they were willing to follow orders, but were afraid to handle
ammunition under unchanged circumstances. They stated they had never been
ordered to load ammunition, only asked "if they wanted to load
ammunition."

All 50 were found guilty of "mutiny,"
and sentenced to 15 years. Review of the sentence brought reductions for 40 of
the men to sentences of 8 to 12 years. Joe Small, who acted at foreman
for his group of loaders and others who were willing to criticize the operation
had their original sentence upheld. An appeal by Thurgood Marshall of the NAACP
was denied. In 1944 the Navy announced that blacks at ammunition depots would be
limited to 30% of the total. In 1945 the Navy officially desegregated.

In January 1946 the 50 "mutineers" were
released from prison and remained in the Navy. They were sent to the South
Pacific in small groups for a "probationary period," and gradually
released from service. Congress eventually
awarded $3,000 to each victim.

The tragedy and its aftermath were catalysts that helped persuade the U.S. Navy and
the military establishment to
begin the long journey on the road to racial justice and equality following
WWII.

This history is important because it feeds the healing and restoration
themes of the current use of the Kohola Sculptures including the One Voice
Healing Pole.

The 1944 Port Chicago
Naval Magazine explosion:

Above is what we believe to be historical evidence of the Kohola logs from
official U.S. Navy photos of the Port Chicago 1944 blast. Note in the
bottom photo on the right hand side what
we believe is one of the ten salvaged Kohola logs that survived the blast, wrapped in
the heavy chains which tied the floating caissons together.

Although exact historical information
regarding the source of the Kohola logs
is not 100% verifiable, we have researched available information and present it
herein as our best judgment and opinion about the source, age and
history of the logs.

Background on The Explosion:
On the evening of July 17, 1944 two ships were being loaded at the
pier. TheLiberty ship SS E.A. Bryan, after 4 days of loading, had
about 4,600 tons of ammunition and explosives on board. 98 enlisted men
continued work. On board the ship were 31 U.S. Merchant Marine crew and 13 Naval
Armed Guard.

Also docked at the pier since 6 PM that evening was the SS Quinault Victory
being loaded by about 100 men for its maiden voyage. On board were 36 crew
and 17 Armed Guard. A Coast Guard fire barge was also moored at the pier.
Besides 430 tons of bombs waiting to be loaded, the pier held a locomotive and
16 boxcars with its crew of three civilians, and a marine sentry.

At 10:18 an Army Air Force plane flying at 9,000 feet saw pieces of white hot
metal, some as large as a house, fly straight up past them. According to the
co-pilot, the "fireworks display" lasted about one minute. The
explosion was heard 200 miles away.

The Miahelo, a Coast Guard patrol boat, was about 1,500 feet from the
pier. The force of the explosion wrecked the wheelhouse, nearly capsized the
boat, badly wounded the man at the wheel, and was followed by a 30 foot wall of
water. A 16 inch shell, which did not explode, hit the engine room of a small
tanker, the SS Redline which was passing nearby.

The 1,200 foot long wooden pier, the locomotive and boxcars, the SS E.A.
Bryan, and 320 people including 202 black enlisted men on the pier
were gone. All 67 crew and 30 Armed Guard aboard the two ships died
instantly. 390 military and civilians were injured, which included men in the
barracks and townspeople, 233 of which were black enlisted men.

There were no identifiable pieces of the SS E.A. Bryan remaining.
Over 12,000 tons of ship and ammunition were gone! Disappeared!
The
stern of the SS Quinault Victory lay upside down in the water 500 feet from
its origin. The rest of the ship which had been lifted clear out of the water
and turned around, was in scattered pieces.

Since this was war time, little
information was made available to the public. Due to the size and impact of the fireball explosion and the
widespread extent of the damage, there was immediate speculation, fear and rumor
that this was the first accidental explosion of an atomic bomb. However, the evidence obtained onsite immediately thereafter
including the absence of nuclear radiation proved otherwise and clearly
showed it was the explosion of the conventional ammunition and ordinance at the site. Although the
fact of the detonation of an atomic bomb was dispelled in the days immediately thereafter,
the rumor persists to this day.

For more information on the Port Chicago disaster, please visit the following web
sites:

The sponsor
of the One Voice-Healing Pole is the Monterey
County Youth Workforce Investment Board
which is one of many similar boards in operation in
counties throughout the U.S. The local workforce boards are the outcome of an Act of congress,
the federal Workforce
Investment Act of 1998. Through this act, federal moneys are
provided to the individual states to administer local workforce development
programs in counties throughout each state through a Workforce Investment Board
(WIB) appointed by the
governor of each state.

The purpose is to provide workforce
investment activities, through statewide and local workforce investment systems,
that increase the employment, retention, and earnings of participants, and
increase occupational skill attainment by participants, and, as a result,
improve the quality of the workforce, reduce welfare dependency, and enhance the
productivity and competitiveness of the Nation.

The State Board includes:

(A)
the Governor;

(B) members of each chamber of the State legislature, appointed
by the appropriate presiding officers of each such chamber;

(C)
representatives appointed by the Governor, who are representatives of
business in the State, who--

(I) are owners of businesses, chief executives or
operating officers of businesses, and other business executives or employers
with optimum policymaking or hiring authority.

(II) represent businesses with employment
opportunities that reflect the employment opportunities of the State;

(III)
are appointed from among individuals nominated by State business organizations
and business trade associations including;

chief elected officials
representing both
cities and counties,

representatives of labor
organizations

representatives of individuals and organizations that have experience with
respect to youth activities;

representatives of individuals and
organizations that have experience and expertise in the delivery of workforce
investment activities, including chief executive officers of community colleges
and community-based organizations within the State;

The Workforce Investment Board brings
together the business and education communities, local government, and residents
to:

Set policy for Workforce Investment Act services
provided through Career Centers special One-Stop programs.

Provide resources to implement new employment
services envisioned in the federal Workforce Investment Act including training and
deploying high-tech workers, retraining employees who have been laid off, and
ensuring that youth have the skills they need as they enter the labor market.

One of the original ten Kohola
Port Chicago logs
has been reserved for carving by a yet to be assembled
Interfaith design and
carving team. It will contain appropriate symbols of the faith traditions
of the world. Plans call for it to be raised vertically on the ICP grounds in the San
Francisco Presidio where it can be
viewed and appreciated by all who visit the ICP.

It will be dedicated in part to
the memory of Mary Ellen Gaylord who was so instrumental in supporting the
growth and success of the ICP over the start up years. Her memory and spirit
will live on with us through this beautiful tribute to her and to all of those
who have worked together over the years towards the success of the Interfaith
Center at the Presidio and the growing interfaith movement throughout the world
which seeks to expand mutual respect and enlightenment between the world's main
faith traditions.

People of all faiths are welcome at The Interfaith Center at the Presidio.

Presidio Mural:
A notable artistic feature of the
Interfaith Center at the Presidio Chapel is a large wall mural painted in 1935
by Victor Arnautoff who was recognized as a leading artist of the period. The mural depicts a historical pageant related to the
founding of the Presidio, the peacetime activities of the Army, and the first
establishment of a Christian religious tradition on the lands of the Presidio,
all in the first years of immigrants from Europe to the area.

The mural also depicts the First Peoples of San Francisco, the Ohlone
Muwekma, in peaceful
encounters with the recently arrived religious, military and business elements
migrating to the area in the 1800's, just as the ancestors of the Ohlone First Peoples
migrated to the area many thousands of years earlier and lived on these same
lands.

Raising an Interfaith Healing Pole - A
Preliminary Proposal Summary

The Interfaith Center at the Presidio is
formulating plans and seeking necessary approvals to raise a 25' ancient yellow
cedar Interfaith Healing Pole near the Main Post Chapel on a ridge descending
the hillside to the northeast. The tree will be carved to highlight symbols from
the world's major religions and indigenous traditions. Placed between
relatively young pines, it will fit in beautifully with the hillside,
providing a symbol of the possibility of healing, respect, and friendship among
all religious spiritual traditions and their followers.

The story of recycling an ancient
two ton yellow cedar, a tree taken from its Alaska hillside where it stood for
many centuries - to its practical wartime role at Port Chicago - to its role as a
symbol of healing between the world's religions, is an incredible story of
destiny. Here is history to complement the remarkable history associated with
the Presidio since 1776.

APPROPRIATE INTERFAITH SYMBOLISM - The
U.S. military, because of its interfaith posture guaranteed by the Bill of
Rights, has built hundreds of interfaith sanctuaries all over the world,
including the Main Post Chapel. Indigenous Native American First Nations'
spirituality is also pluralistic, naturally interfaith in perspective, and
focused on nature. A number of tribes use sacred poles themselves. So having a
dramatic 'interfaith healing pole' - made from recycled wood native to America -
seems culturally, symbolically, and historically appropriate for these
historical times at the beginning of a new century and millennium when the
world's faith traditions are reaching out to each other as perhaps no other time
in history by those wishing to bring lasting peace to the troubled areas of
northern Ireland, the Middle East, and in the aftermath of the 9-11 tragedies.

The
"Interfaith"
Healing Pole shown
above was present at the first United
Religions Initiative
conference at Stanford University in June of
1999, the initial convocation of a large group of representatives of faith
traditions from throughout the world who gathered to organize a United Religions
organization inspired by and modeled after the success of the United
Nations. It contains symbols of the world's faith traditions carved on the
surface. Since the initial meeting in 1999, the URI organization has expanded to
a presence worldwide.

The Main Post Chapel
is part of the Main Post and as such is part of the historical, cultural vision
conceived by the PTIP Presidio Trust Initial Plan and its predecessor documents. The
sculpture will be landscaped on
the ridge and accessible so that people could easily walk down from the Chapel or up from the
Golden Gate Club. People would have a place to sit and enjoy a vista of the
Golden Gate on one side, and downtown San Francisco on the other. It would be
a high-interest, low-maintenance, culturally significant asset for the Park. The
pole would be a gift to the Park, with an agreement that the Interfaith Center
would maintain it.

The site for the proposed Interfaith
Healing Pole is 75 feet below the Presidio's Main Post Chapel, on the ridge
running northeast of the Chapel. This site guarantees the historic integrity of
the various views of the Chapel. As one looks up to the Chapel from the Golden
Gate Club as thousands do each month, the picture post-card image of the
Chapel would not be touched. Having the cemetery on the right and now
the healing pole on the left, standing next to still living trees, gives the
whole vista added significance and attraction. It would be the one place where a
person could look across the Main Post to downtown San Francisco and by simply
turning around, see the Chapel, the National Cemetery and the Golden Gate
Bridge.

The Recycled Tree will be
used. An ancient old
growth yellow cedar tree that spent the better part of the twentieth century
protecting U. S. Navy vessels at Port Chicago while munitions and bombs were
loaded was purchased by an interfaith donor several years ago when this project
was first conceived. The tree was secured over a year ago through a donation and
has been in storage while planning, fundraising, and now applying for permission
takes place. If permission is quickly granted, we would like to raise it in
2002.

As
in many previous poles by Shane
Eagleton, the project sculptor who has carved around the world, the
Interfaith
Healing Pole will feature the design of DNA, the substance shared by
all that
lives. Against this DNA motif, Shane will carve images, figures, and
symbols
drawn from the world's religious and spiritual traditions, indigenous
and
established. A team of religious artists and interested parties is
accumulating
the images and reflecting on them with the artist. Shane's
healing poles
include one honoring American Indians commissioned by the Bay Area's
Shoreline
Amphitheater; a privately owned pole in Half-Moon Bay featuring the
world's
animals; and a pole carved at the Presidio with a whale emerging out of
waves
which is currently on display outside the Interfaith Center until it is
relocated to a suitable place in Hawaii according to current
plans to gift the PICA Kohola Sculpture to the University of Hawaii.

"We will begin with the religious
symbols and actually carve them into the pole in some depth," says Shane. "For
the ICP Interfaith Healing Pole, we want to let the symbols, the images
themselves find their way into this ancient wood."

The ICP Interfaith Healing Pole will be
blessed and dedicated to interfaith peoples all over the world who work for
peace among religions and nations.

Sculpting
of two massive sculptures has already begun in California in the San
Francisco Presidio. Special teams of California and Hawaii
youth and youth from Japan
will carve the remaining details of these two massive sculptures at
special carving
sites in the San Francisco Presidio, Monterey California and Honolulu,
Hawaii.
When completed, the Thousand Cranes Youth Sculpture will travel
to Japan and the Hawaiian Life Ahupua'a Sculpture will remain in
Hawaii.

The Thousand
Cranes Youth Sculpture will be an unconditional gift to all the youth of
Japan and the world from the youth of California and Hawaii. It will contain carvings of the native plants and animals,
birds and marine life of Japan including many endangered and already extinct
species. The sculpture will also be in memory of Japanese
schoolgirl Sadako Sasaki and her bravery and steadfastness while facing
unexpected diversity in her own life. She died of leukemia several years
after being exposed to atomic radiation. Perhaps you have read the story of
“Sadako and the Thousand Cranes”. When Sadako became sick, she decided to
fold a thousand cranes (the crane is a Japanese symbol of good luck and long life) in the
hopes that they would bring her health back. When she died, Sadako's classmates
decided to build a statue in her memory through which her life continues to be
celebrated long after her passing.

Planning has begun to create and consecrate
the
"Thousand Cranes" Youth Sculpture in
memory of those affected by the unfortunate
side effects of war
on all
sides of the conflict in the Pacific theater in World War II. Specially affected
were the residents of Hawaii and
Japan who suffered directly
thelosses
of both Pearl Harbor and Hiroshima/Nagasaki, and those who
died in the Port Chicago, California disaster in between. The key energy for
healing will come through the youth of California, New York City, Hawaii and Japan who
together with the other youth of the world will
lead us to new possibilities and a more secure renewed future.

It will be carved from one of the ten original Kohola (renamed to Kohola)
carving logs that survived the Port Chicago Disaster in June of 1944, just 14
months before the explosion of the world's first atomic bomb over Hiroshima in
August of 1945 that was intended by Allied military and political planners to
bring the long war in the Pacific to a quick end.

The log will be consecrated in the San
Francisco Presidio by members of the original Kohola project team,
where youth
from the Presidio Native Plants Nursery of the Golden Gate National
Park
Association will apply the first carved symbols of the native plants of
Japan. The sculpture will then be transported to Monterey,
California where it will be
further carved with more symbols of Japan animal and plant and sea life
by young
carvers of the Monterey Workforce investment board jobs training
program. It
will then be shipped to Honolulu, Hawaii where it will be completed by
the youth of Hawaii including students at the University of
Hawaii, the Hawaii Workforce Investment Board, other local youth
organizations, and youth from Japan studying at schools in Hawaii. When
completed it will be transported to Japan and gifted to the
youth of Japan and to all the Japanese people in a special ceremony and
placed
at an appropriate place within the Hiroshima Memorial Peace Park where
it can be
viewed by all who visit the park.The
possibility of the
Thousand Cranes Youth Sculpture was
first envisioned by Samuel Hart of the Pacific Islanders Cultural
Association,
himself a 5th generation Hawaiian kahuna, upon the arrival of the ten
Kohola healing logs at the San Francisco Presidio carving site in
1997. This
project honors his healing vision.

June Casey
is a lifelong
survivor of cancer caused by early exposure to radiation while living in
Washington State near the Hanford atomic energy development laboratories near her home.
She is a
participant in the activities of the Interfaith Center at the Presidio and is
also a key representative of the gifting energy that is forming around
this project.

When the project is consummated,
it is envisioned that the
Thousand Cranes Youth Sculpture will join the numerous other monuments, statues, and
fountains in Hiroshima Memorial Peace Park.

Every year, in Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6th,
people float lanterns with prayers, thoughts, and messages of peace down the
local rivers in commemoration of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945.
With similar peaceful intention, this healing pole is
not meant to condemn nor condone the bombing, but is meant as a way for people
to express their views on how to achieve peace through healing processes that
honor losses by all parties to a disagreement while focusing on lessons learned
and a more positive view of future possibilities working together.

Actual
photo of the Hiroshima explosion

The atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima generated a huge
amount of energy when it exploded. The amount of energy generated by the bomb
was equivalent to the amount of energy generated by a 15,000 ton TNT explosion.
Half of the energy was consumed when the
explosion generated an ultra high air pressure which resulted in very strong
bomb blast (wind). One third of the energy was consumed when the explosion
generated heat, while the rest of the energy was consumed when the explosion
generated radiation. This was three times the amount of total energy that was
released in the Port Chicago explosion 14 months earlier when 4,600 tons of
explosives ignited in one furious blast.

Hiroshima is a name known around the world as the Japanese city destroyed by the
world's first atomic bomb. The US dropped the bomb on August 6, 1945. After the
US dropped a second atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Nagasaki one week later, the Japanese
surrendered, thus ending World War 2. The Hiroshima Memorial Peace Park ,
designed and built after the war, is a memorial to the people who died in the
atomic bomb. In addition, the aims of the Memorial Peace Park include helping bring
about the abolition of nuclear weapons and the realization of world peace.

At
one end of the large, green park is the atomic bomb dome. This was one of the
few buildings that remained standing after the atomic bomb hit Hiroshima,
although only the dome and some of the outer walls survived the blast. Most of
the other city buildings were destroyed along with an estimated 78,150 people
who perished that day.

Not too far from the A-bomb dome is a statue called the
"Children's Peace Monument"
(below).

Children's
Peace Monument - "Tower of aThousand Cranes"

Note the
thousands of
brightly colored origami paper cranes around the base.

The "Tower of a
Thousand Cranes"
is a beautiful
statue of a young girl holding a crane over her head. Nearby are thousands of
brightly colored origami paper cranes that people bring daily to place next to
the Sadako statue. It is erected in the memory a Junior
High School girl, Sadako Sasaki, who died of an A-bomb disease (leukemia).
Perhaps you have read the story of Sadako and the Thousand Cranes. When Sadako
became sick, she decided to fold a thousand cranes (a Japanese symbol of good
luck and long life) in the hopes that they would bring her health back. When she
died, Sadako's classmates decided to build a statue in her memory.

At the center of the park is a pond and a cenotaph which is
an arched sculpture. Resting below the arched sculpture is a register
of the
names of all the people who died as a result of exposure to the Atomic
bomb. In
addition, to the names of the people killed the day the atomic bomb was
dropped,
it also lists the names of those who died in the days, weeks, months,
and years
later due to the fire, heat, and radiation generated by the bomb.
Currently, it
contains over 181,000 names. A small stone at the base of the arch
reads, "Let all the souls here rest in peace; For we shall not repeat
the evil."
Nearby is the "The "Flame of Peace. " It was built in 1964 as
10,000 observers offered their silent prayers for peace. It is said
that the
flame will burn until the entire world if free from nuclear weapons.
The park
also contains numerous other monuments, statues, and fountains.

The
A-Dome, one of the few downtown Hiroshima buildings not leveled by the atomic
bomb explosion still stands within Hiroshima Memorial Peace Park.

At the opposite
end of the park from the A-Dome is the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. The
museum contains film clips, photos, narratives, and models of Hiroshima. It also
includes artifacts such as children's clothing, and a watch that stopped exactly
at 8:15 am , the moment of the Hiroshima atomic bomb blast. Japanese, Americans, and people from all over the
world look at the exhibits in silence. One can not help but feel sadness and
reverence for the people of Hiroshima who perished in the terrifying blast on
August 6th over 55 years ago. The museum portrays the Japanese's own role in World War II, especially their
invasions of other Asian nations and the bombing of Pearl Harbor that ultimately
led to the US's decision to enter World War II. In a museum exhibit called
"Lessons of History" the inscription says, " ...we must never
forget that nuclear weapons are the fruits of war. Japan too with colonization
policies and wars of aggression inflicted incalculable irreversible harm on the
peoples of many countries.

Hiroshima Peace
Flame

We must reflect on war and the causes of war, not
just nuclear weapons. We must learn the lessons of history, that we may learn
and avoid the paths that led to war." Pope
John Paul's message at the entrance of the Peace Memorial Museum inscribed on a
large stone says "War is the work of man. War is destruction of
human life. War is death. To remember the past is to Commit oneself to the
future. To remember Hiroshima is to abhor nuclear war, To remember Hiroshima is
to commit oneself to peace."

The
original Childrens Sculpture under
construction in 1997, carved from a 150 year old
California redwood tree that had fallen over on private land in a windstorm.

Port Chicago
Sculpture

A vision has been expressed to create and consecrate a Kohola sculpture
to be erected at the Port Chicago site and
dedicated to the memory of all those who lost their lives in the huge explosion
in 1944. This log and the nine other Port Chicago
logs all withstood the immense blast in 1944 caused by the explosion onboard ammunition ships being loaded
with munitions destined for the war in the Pacific. Two ships, the ammo loading facility,
and the lives of the 320 sailors on duty that night were all pulverized in an
instant in the immense explosion.

The Port Chicago US Naval Magazine
National Memorial located on San Francisco Bay.

Restoration Park(A
Vision)

A design Vision for
Restoration Park

The Park would feature a
permanent family of 16 immense fallen old growth healing poles erected in a
special area within the
San Francisco Presidio.

The Park would
be an integral
part of the "swords to plowshares" conversion of the
Presidio from a former U.S. Army base to a national park managed by the new
Presidio Trust.

The Park's four entrances
will embrace the "six directions:" north through the United Nations
entrance, south through the United Religions entrance, east through the Rising
Sun entrance, and west through the Golden Gate Bridge entrance to the Pacific
Ocean and Islands of the world, downward to Mother Earth, and up to the Father
Sky.

Restoration
Park will
embrace the four elements, earth, water, fire and air.

The 16 individual healing
poles which together comprise Restoration Park will represent the Continents,
Islands and Oceans, all First Peoples, Men, Women, Children, the United Nations
and the world's Faith Traditions.

The carving of the Sculptures will be done by the same
Kohola
Carving Team that created the first four KoholaSculptures. The poles themselves will come from previously
fallen redwood and cedar trees from special areas throughout Northern California
obtained through the assistance and approvals of the ancestors of the indigenous
peoples of California.

The carving will be done
at the Kohola
Carving Site at the Presidio, the same site shared with the San
Francisco Recycling Center at the Presidio.

At the center of the Park will be a Healing Fire Pit with
continuous flames erupting in a concentric circular patterns through sands and
soil collected from sacred areas of all First Peoples of North America and the
Pacific Islands. The Sacred Fire Pit will itself be constructed from special
rocks gathered from ceremonial indigenous area healing pits from throughout
the Americas.

Amphitheater seating around the Sacred Fire Pit will
accommodate outdoor meetings and gatherings. Special lighting will illuminate
the Sculptures at night.

The Protect All Life Sculpture
is on display at the PAL Foundation's facility in Half Moon Bay.

The two One Voice Healing Poles
are at Fort Ord in Monterey, California. They are awaiting
completion of the plan to transport
one across country
and erect it in the Fall of 2002 in New York
City within the New York City Zoo and Botanical Gardens. It is envisioned the
second one of the pair will be erected in California on the same day.

The Children's sculpture
is at the Lombard St. main entrance in front of the Presidio
Alliance Building near the new George Lucas ILM "Star Wars" studio being constructed.

The PICA

Sculpture
is on display outside the Interfaith Center at the
Presidio.

Three others are
temporarily housed within a special area of the Presidio Native Plants
Nursery which supplies native plants to the entire 36,000 acre Golden
Gate national Recreation Area. Visitors to the Nursery can view the

sculptures,
learn about their background and their purpose, and be further inspired
to do good works in their own lives and communities. These
completed
sculptures
will eventually be placed in
their permanent homes when the sites are ready.

Please call us to arrange
personal guided tours of any of the sculptures.

On behalf of all of those who have participated in the Kohola Sculptures Project, may our endeavors in
the pursuit of healing between all living things on this planet become the
important work of us all.